


Short Story Compilation

by angelastjoan



Category: Actor RPF, Josh Hutcherson - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-16
Updated: 2013-05-16
Packaged: 2017-12-12 01:32:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/805592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelastjoan/pseuds/angelastjoan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of short stories and one shots under one title.  Original characters listed in individual summary.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It Could Be Love

**Author's Note:**

> Fic: It Could Be Love - Josh meets Starla while getting a tattoo done.

**Part 1**

 

Josh leaned back in the chair, his thigh twitching as the needle hit a particularly sensitive spot.  Chad, his tattooist, wiped away the ink with a vaseline covered paper towel and Josh inhaled slowly, appreciating the reprieve from the pain.  The left leg of his cargo shorts were rolled up nearly to his hip and he switched his attention between watching the tattoo come to life and looking around the nearly empty room.

****

One other person, a woman, was getting a piece worked on.  When she had come in and started talking to the staff he knew she had to be a regular.  And after Tom directed her into a back room to take off her shirt so he could get a look at what still needed to be done, Josh's eyes had glanced over to the parted curtain and glimpsed the colorful canvas of her bare skin, in awe of the amount of hours and money it took to get something so elaborate.

****

Dark blues mixed with vivid purples and pinks spread from her left to right in deep swirls mimicking the masterpiece of a universe. Josh watched her now. She sat on a chair, straddling it backwards, arms crossed along the high leather back.  She had removed her shirt and didn't have on a bra that he could see. There was a paper thin bib that clasped around her neck and hung loose, barely covering her breasts.

****

Josh was aware but not leering.  He didn't want to make her uncomfortable.  She was facing him but hadn't yet looked up in his direction.  He chewed on the inside of his cheek, trying to decide if he wanted to get her attention. He'd just decided that it wasn't his style, to hit on someone during such a personal moment, when her eyes finally lifted to his and she started at him, startled as if she wasn't anticipating him being there even though he'd been here first.

****

Her eyes searched his, wide and blue, before lowering to his mouth and then to his jaw. He fought the urge to rub at the scruff on his neck as her gaze dipped lower to the patch of hair that inevitably stuck out of the top of his v neck shirt.

****

Her eyes dipped past his shirt to his khaki cargoes and stopped at the design being etched into his leg.

****

He looked down trying to see what she saw.

****

It just looked like a large black blob to him but he trusted Chad to do it justice. He'd been coming to him for the past few years and had never been dissatisfied.

****

Chad looked up suddenly and noticed his scrutiny. "You doing okay? I think we're about two more hours out."

****

Josh had to clear his throat to answer, trying not to wince at the idea of sitting in one place and holding still for that long. "Nah. I'm good to go."

****

Chad threw him a smile and bent his head back down to get back to work.

****

Josh nodded and looked back up at the girl but she had her eyes closed and her chin propped up on her forearms as she rested.  His eyes touched on her dark hair, her bangs pushed back and off her face with a gold band of woven threads.  Silver studs in her ears and a thin wire hoop hooked through her left eyebrow, emphasizing the subtle arch.  Her cheeks were pink, probably from the pain, and her lips were parted as if she were trying to regulate her breathing.  Josh couldn’t look away as the tip of her pink tongue darted out and wet her top then bottom lip and a single sweep and then disappeared back into her mouth.

****

He didn’t make a sound, rather he held in the heartfelt groan, but her eyes opened and looked straight into his as if he had.  As if she had heard it when he knew she couldn’t have.  

****

Her blue eyes were hooded as she met his gaze head on, and stayed that way for endless minutes.  Josh looked away first, down towards his lap, suddenly shy.  He could be a smooth talker when he wanted to be one.  But right now he didn’t want to pretend to be something he wasn’t.  Disconcerted with her blatant stare he felt his cheeks start to burn with a flush and instead of looking back up at the woman across from him he closed his eyes and pretended she didn’t exist.

****

Starla hadn’t meant to stare at the attractive man across the room.  The needle had scraped across the rise of her spine and she had wetted her dry lips in anticipation of the upcoming pain.

****

When she had opened her eyes she hadn’t purposely looked in his direction, he just happened to be there.  And his hazel eyes looking back at her had brought her to a calm place inside her mind.  She had focused on the specks of gold and brown interspersed with the deep woodsy green and she had overcome the pain.  When he had looked away suddenly she had sucked in an inaudible breath.  She had wanted to call out an apology to him, at least mouth one out across the distance between them, but he had closed his eyes and shut off that small intimate moment.

****

Star let her gaze wander off to the side where posters hung in a long hallway, trying to find a point of interest where she could lose herself once again.  But nothing worked and finally she found herself looking back at the stranger.  She gave him a more thorough once over, from the emblem on the front of his ball cap to the strong line of his jaw.  He looked familiar but this was Hollywood and everyone looked like someone important, whether they wore a three piece suit or a boring white tee with cargos.

****

She amused herself by wondering what she would put in all of those pockets if she had those shorts.  She watched the guy across from her shift in his seat and she paid special attention to the way his leg twitched.  She wondered if it was his first tattoo or if he had others hidden on his body and how much fun it would be to find them.

****

The buzzing sound stopped from behind her and Tom moved behind her.  “You doing okay, Starla?”

****

She glanced over her shoulder at her old friend, keeping the cotton bib tucked against her breasts with her arms.  “I’m great.  How does it look back there?”

****

She trusted his judgment, of course.  She’d been spending time with Tom for nearly a year getting work done on her tat.  Working in layers and letting each one heal before returning for another round had proved to be time consuming but worth it.  She was only in LA for short stints and tried to time her visits with breaks in her touring schedule.  Being on the road left her tired and cranky but coming here to the relative silence of the tattoo shop was always a welcome change in pace.

****

Tom finished squirting the cool liquid down her back and delicately wiping her off before spreading the vaseline across her fresh ink.  “It looks amazing.  Come over here, I’ll show you.”

****

Holding her covered breasts she got up from the seat and stretched, following Tom to the floor to ceiling mirror set against the back wall of the shop.  He positioned her and grabbed another mirror to angle it so she could get a full look at her back.  Starla gasped and stared, overwhelmed by the beauty of the intermixing of colors spread across her back.  A black and white piece with the finality of color added.  It was feminine and delicate with a touch of strength and fluidity.  Star raised her free hand to her mouth as she stared in silence.  She felt the tears springing up behind her eyes and choked back a relieved laugh that tried to bubble up to the surface.  “It’s incredible, Tom.”  She looked up at him for just a second before letting her eyes fall to look at herself in the mirror again.  Tom’s grin was wide enough but grew the longer she studied herself.  

****

When she tore her eyes away from her reflection it was because the man, just a few feet away from her now, mumbled, “Wow.”  She turned her back to him and heard his quick inhalation before he spoke clearer than before, “That’s beautiful.  Absolutely gorgeous.”  Tom preened, earning a grin from Starla.

****

She turned toward the man, “Thank you.”  She stepped closer and held out her free hand.  “I’m Starla - or Star - by the way.”

****

He took her hand in a firm grip and gave her a squeeze, trying not to move too much since Chad was still busy shading.  “I’m Josh.  Nice to meet you.”  His grip released and she motioned towards his exposed thigh.

****

“Nice work.”  Now that she was beside him she could see he had a tattoo on his forearm.  She bent over just a little and looked down at the black and white seascape coming together.  “That’s going to look righteous.”

****

Josh laughed and she looked back up at him and smiled in return.  Before he could speak she blurted out, “I’m sorry if I was staring at you.”

****

At his blank look she cleared her throat.  “It’s just that I was in a little pain and I wasn’t exactly staring at you so much as through you and not really even through you just mostly at your eyes and I’m sorry.”

****

Josh looked startled yet amused and shook his head, “It’s no big deal.  Just caught me off guard.  But thanks, I think?”

****

She nodded and rocked side to side before she asked, “What’s in your pockets?”  At Josh’s concerned stare she grimaced before she added, “It’s just that you have so many of them and I was sitting there watching you and wondering what was in your pants.”  Josh choked as he sucked in a breath and Starla realized what she had said and attempted to back track.  “Not in your pants.  I mean your pockets.”  She waved her hand toward his crotch and then pulled her hand back as if it had gotten burned.  “Not that.  Jesus.  I’m such a fuck up.”  Josh watched her turn and walk back to Tom’s station to grab her discarded shirt.  She called out to him, “Nevermind.  Forget I said anything.”

****

Josh watched her as she entered the partitioned area to get dressed and when she came back out her bra was tucked into the back pocket of her jeans and a faded Guns N Roses shirt hung off her shoulders, loose around her torso.  She walked back over to Tom and turned her back to him, letting him pull up her shirt from behind so he could seal off the tattoo with saran wrap.  Once she was bandaged up she turned back towards Josh and smiled apologetically.  Chad was still grinding away at the darker lines and Josh was watching her curiously.

****

She stepped over to him carefully and then said, “Sorry about the rambling.  I do that when I’m nervous.”  Josh inclined his head to her.  “It’s not a problem.  You were perfectly fine.  And just for the record I only have my phone, my wallet, and my keys in my pockets.”

****

Star grinned back and touched her hand to his shoulder, “For the record, that seems like a waste of pockets.”  He watched with interest as she took her bra from the back pocket of her jeans and dropped the garment into his lap.  “And now you have something else to fill your pants with.”  Josh nearly corrected her but when he looked up at her face she winked conspiratorially and gave him a wave as she headed towards the front to settle her tab and tip her tattooist.

****

Josh watched her walk out the door, lifting her hand in a final wave before exiting the shop and his life.  

****

Which was probably for the best considering he’d just recently become single and the last thing he needed was a pretty distraction.  Tom didn’t bring her up again and Chad just eyed the bra with good humor before shaking his head and getting back to work.

****

Josh folded the lace cups over each other and slipped the bra into the velcro pocket against his right knee.  He knew what he’d be doing tonight to take his mind off the discomfort of the healing process...

**  
Part 2**

****

Starla bounced on the balls of her feet, trying her hardest to see over the shoulders of the people packed together in front of her.  Between her and the stage there was an overwhelming number and she concentrated on not jostling anyone.  She knew her friends were up there somewhere but she couldn’t remember exactly how far left of the speakers they were situated.  Instead of working her way through the wall of human bodies covered in sweat and glitter and who knew what else, she backed off and made her way around the outside of the crowd.

****

Her band was playing later tonight to the sold out venue of the two day Woodstock-esque concert but for now she had hours before she had to get ready to go on stage.  And she was spending that free time with her friends, if she could just find them.

****

Josh arrived at the concert just as the sun was setting, the woman walking beside him chattering nonstop about how they had missed her favorite band because his schedule was fucked up.

****

He concentrated hard on not rolling his eyes and instead nodding at appropriate times.  He was pretty sure he had just agreed with her that he was the problem in their relationship but he didn’t know for sure because he had already tuned her out.  She complained about him wearing sunglasses even though it was getting dark but he kept them on because he could allow himself to let his eyes glaze over with each sharp word she spoke.  There was a lull in music and from where they stood he could see a new band set up.

****

“I wonder who this is.”

****

Josh shrugged, uncaring.  He could tell she was sucking the life right out of him.  She dragged him out to clubs and parties night after night and it was reflecting in his day to day life.  When he declined invitations she stayed home and pouted, withholding sex for days to get back at him.

****

When she had mentioned going to a live show he had instantly jumped on the idea.  He hadn’t had sex in almost a month and lately his hand didn’t know the tricks his dick liked.  Not that his girlfriend knew either.  They had just hit their three month mark and sex with her seemed more like a chore he was forced to do and didn’t get paid for rather than what it should be; fun and a reflection of their love.

****

He stopped walking when she did, following her lead as always, near the side of the stage. And when he heard laughter boom from the mic before a quick apology his eyes lifted to look at the dark haired woman running across the stage.  

****

Starla stopped next to Mickey and put a hand on his arm, “Can you tell them to turn up the amp by a half?  There’s still a little feedback.”  Their roadie gave her a thumbs up before speaking to someone at the side of the stage.

****

Josh was shaken out of his reverie when his girlfriend exclaimed, “Oh I love them!  They’re my favorite band!”

****

He spared her a glance, opening his mouth to tell her they had already missed her favorite band when he realized every band was her favorite and he shut his mouth without comment.

****

Starla danced across the slick stage, sweat and beer and bodily fluids had created a thin layer of wetness on top of the constructed platform.

****

She did a quick mic check and then after she was satisfied with the results, ran towards the side of the stage to signal the guys to come up.  Out of the corner of her eye she tracked a flash of movement and turned her head in the direction of the waving arm.

****

Josh grinned wide when Starla caught sight of him, lowering his arm as she raised hers to wave back at him.

****

A sharp elbow connected with his side and even though he flinched he refused to look down.  His eyes stared right back at Starla's even as she motioned a guy with short black hair over to her.  They spoke briefly before she pointed to Josh excitedly.  The black haired guy called on a security guard and in no time at all Josh was backstage with his plus one.

****

He watched from behind the scenes as a woman he hadn't seen in months, and truthfully never thought he'd see again, trotted back and forth in front of the crowd changing the angle of a mic stand and knocking on the amp with her foot to check for feedback.

****

Satisfied, Star headed towards him and stopped with a smile as Josh removed his sunglasses and held them in his hand.  "Hi!  Wow.  Look at you."  She leaned forward and hugged him hard, putting all of her weight into his arms.  Josh buried his face in her hair and relished in the comfort of having a warm body against him again.  He forgot where he was and who he was with and let everything fade into the background, focusing on this woman with her curves fitting into the plains of his body.  He pressed his hands to her back and couldn't help but notice the absence of a bra strap.  And he was reminded of the purple scrap of lace that was nestled in his top right dresser drawer with his neatly folded boxers.

****

Starla knew she had to unwind her arms from around his neck but she was having a hard time remembering why, until the female accompanying him cleared her throat uncomfortably.  With her arm still around him she backed up to look at his companion.  "Hi, I'm Starla.  You must be Josh's girlfriend."  

****

The woman looked between them, apparently waiting for an introduction, and Josh made a startled sound in the back of his throat before saying, “Janine, this is Starla.  Starla, Janine.”

****

Star grinned and shook her hand, letting her arm drop from around Josh’s shoulder.  She looked over to the stage as Mickey called her name.  “I’ll see you guys after, okay?”

****

She headed out from behind the curtain to her drumset and banged around a little, testing out her drumheads and twirling her sticks high into the air.  The way she leaned back a little to step on the bass pedal and how she caught her tongue between her teeth as she concentrated tapping out a beat on the snares enraptured Josh.  

****

Janine’s elbow connected with his ribs again and this time he did react and step away from her, rubbing his side.  “I think your arm slipped.”

****

Her voice was a little loud as the music started picking up tempo when she replied, “I think your eyes slipped.  Did you forget who you came here with?”

****

Josh didn’t think about his reply, just snarked out, “Like you would ever let me forget.”

****

He regretted it the moment the words slipped past his lips but they were out now and he knew there was no going back.  Janine stared at him in shock, her mouth opening and closing before she angrily slapped his arm and screamed, “WELL GUESS WHO YOU AREN’T LEAVING WITH!”

****

He watched her stomp away and for a second he thought about not going after her.  

****

He imagined waiting backstage right where he was and taking Starla home instead.

****

His dick twitched with interest at the idea of the blue eyed brunette under and over him, sweaty from playing drums, grinning as she rode him hard and fast.

****

But that wasn’t the type of guy he was.  He would be just like the majority of his exes if he did that.  He looked at the woman on stage, completely in her element as her arms moved swiftly across the drums in front of her.  He watched her for a few more seconds, reveling in the fantasy, before he swore under his breath and went after Janine.

****

Nearly an hour later Starla bounded off the stage, energy zipping through her body like tendrils of electricity ripping through her veins.  Adrenaline pushed her hard and she came to a stop, confusion bringing her up short, when she didn’t see Josh or his girl where she had left them.  

****

She yelled to the roadie closest to her, asking if he had seen where the couple had gone.  

****

“Chick stormed off like there was something jabbing her up the ass and dude followed after her.  They headed out into the crowd.  You need something?”

****

Starla shook her head, disappointed, and thanked him anyways before turning to Mickey, John and Nathan; her bandmates.  Mickey was talking about grabbing dinner and John headed off to find his girlfriend while Nate hung back to watch the remaining performances.

****

Star, her heart like lead in her chest at having missed out on actually talking to Josh yet again, trailed after Mickey.  She’d go have dinner with her friend and then head home to pack for the tour they were leaving on in a couple days.

****

After dinner, in which she ate like a ravenous woman and listened to Mickey hash out some details about where their first shows were, Starla walked up the driveway to her front door.  She unlocked the door and let herself in before waving at Mick that she was fine.  After a short honk of his horn and a returning wave back at her she shut the door, locked it, and allowed herself a moment to lean back.

****

Gone were the days of hard partying and passing out in bars from too many shots and tripping balls off of bad acid.  Now she was happy with a jaunt to Waffle House and the occasional joint to mellow her out.

****

Starla breathed in deep and moved through the dimly lit hall to her bedroom where she stripped down to her lace panties and no bra.  She toyed with the idea of taking a shower and then decided against it.  It wouldn’t be the first time she passed out after a show still sticky with sweat and her belly full of late-night, greasy breakfast foods.

****

As she tumbled into bed she pushed the lace panties off over her hips and down her legs and as she went to kick them off she paused with them dangling from the edge of her foot.  She stared at the purple and black lace for a long minute before it dawned on her what was out of place.

****

The first time she met Josh she had given him her bra on a whim and a burst of confidence.

****

And the second time she ran into him she had been wearing the matching panties of the set.

****

Starla grabbed the pillow under her head and pulled on it, freeing it from her dead weight.  She covered her flaming cheeks with the down filled cotton as she laughed at the irony.

****

Josh had followed Janine from the stage area all the way to his Jeep, apologizing the whole way.  She had rewarded him with the silent treatment and when he took the freeway exit to her place instead of his, she had started crying.

****

Josh, figuring she wanted to be alone since she was treating him like he wasn’t there anyways, had no idea what he had done wrong.  So when she got out of the Jeep and told him she never wanted to see him again he laid his head against the steering wheel and practiced deep breathing exercises.  He didn’t call out to her.  He didn’t ask her to come back and work it out.  He didn’t offer to take her back to his place.  When Janine turned back around he had already squared his jaw, biting on the insides of his cheeks to keep from speaking out, and he was looking straight ahead out the windshield.

****

He waited the rest of the weekend and didn’t hear from Janine.  He finally worked up the nerve to send her a text, afraid if he called her he’d beg her to take him back out of the routine they’d fallen into.  The text read, “So are we done?”

****

Her response took half the day as if she were punishing him.  “I don’t know.  Are we?”

****

Josh didn’t know what to do.  He asked a God he didn’t even completely believe in to give him a sign.  Any sign at all.

****

Later that evening when a package showed up containing a pair of lace panties, still warm and smelling of Starla, he had his sign.

****

His sign was a matching set of bra and panties and when he finally got around to texting back Janine he ended it with two words.  “Hell yes.”

****

It took him two hours to track down Starla’s number but that night he called her and listened to her enigmatic voice as she headed north to Seattle in a tour bus.  After hours of chatter and getting to know each other Starla eventually fell asleep from exhaustion.  Josh couldn’t bring himself to hang up the phone.  Instead he laid his head down on his pillow and pretended he was right beside her, knowing without a doubt that one day he would be.

 

**Part 3**

 

41 days, 15 hours and roughly 27 minutes. That was how long it had been since Starla had seen Josh at her show in L.A. They talked on the phone every single night and they texted first thing in the morning and throughout the day. They had sent each other pictures and had facetimed but ultimately decided to wait until the day they could be together in person to take it to the next step.

****

That day was today.

****

Starla paced back and forth in the dressing room of the Atlanta night club. Josh’s flight had landed a little over an hour ago and he had texted her to let her know he was safely on the ground. He had texted her again just a few minutes ago to let her know he had arrived at the club.

****

Starla waited impatiently, bottom lip caught between her teeth as she wondered what was taking him so long to get to her. Every time she heard footsteps heading down the hall she’d hold her breath in anticipation, every muscle in her body tightening, until they continued past the door.  Then her pacing would resume.

****

Her phone buzzed with an incoming message at the same time there was a knock on the door.  Torn between which one she wanted to answer she called out for the visitor to come in as she turned back to the small couch where her phone was.  

****

Josh’s voice from behind her drew her up short. “Fuck. You’re gorgeous.”

****

Starla whipped her head around to stare at this stranger who wasn’t really a stranger.  Her body coiled in on itself before it released and she catapulted herself into his arms.  Josh caught her to him and moaned as her body fit to his while she continued to wiggle as if she could get any closer.  She pulled away to look at him but he didn’t give her the chance.  His lips fused to hers and he walked her backwards until the backs of her knees hit the edge of the night manager’s desk.  

****

Her ass propped her upright, but not for long, as Josh leaned over her, pressing her down while he nudged her thighs wide to accommodate his hips.  His mouth didn’t leave hers, not while he fit his erection to the apex of her thighs and not when she began to moan his name.

****

Their make out session was interrupted by Mickey, the lead singer of the band, and only because they needed their drummer to perform with them.

****

Josh watched from the side of the stage, staying out of sight of the patrons of the club, as Starla performed.  A large guy with hands the size of dinner plates stood beside him, Star’s personal security guard.  His voice was gruff when he spoke, “During the last song I’m supposed to take you out to the tour bus.”  When Josh looked up at the hulking figure he added, “Starla’s orders.”

****

When the last song started Josh was led down a hallway, past the office from earlier, to the fire exit.  In the alley behind the club was a tour bus and a nondescript van.  At his curious glance the security guard nodded towards the vehicle saying, “Instruments.”  He banged the side of his fist on the bus and it opened with a whoosh, an older gentleman sitting behind the wheel with a book in one hand and a coffee in the other.

****

“Is this Miss Starla’s guest?”

****

The security guard grunted a response that Josh missed as he climbed the steps into the lap of traveling luxury.  

****

He had dated girls in the music industry before and he had been on a tour bus a time or two, but nothing like this.  Plush couches and overstuffed chairs lined either side of the bus and a small kitchenette was set into the wall.  Josh looked down the wide corridor to the closed door at the end of the bus but he didn’t dare venture any further.  He already felt as if he were intruding on some private place that he was lucky to get a glimpse into and he turned to ask the security guard where he should sit when the door opened again and Starla bounded up the steps and turned to face him.  Both driver and security detail exited after her entrance to grant them their requested privacy.

****

Her grin, as she stood there and stared at him, was contagious and Josh felt his mouth stretch in a smile before thinking about it.  His arms felt heavy and empty while she looked at him, eyes searching every inch of him as if memorizing each detail.  Finally, when he could stand it no longer, he held his arms out wide and Starla accepted the invitation, walking to him and then burying her face in his neck while her arms went around his waist and his around her shoulders.  

****

Sweat-soaked strands of her hair were plastered to her face and neck, a loose bun holding her thick locks up and off her back.  Her eyes were alert and hungry as she nudged him back to sit on a couch covered in faux fur.  She followed him down, knees resting on the outside of his spread legs and comfortably sitting her ass on his strong thighs.  They stared at each other for a long moment before Josh had the decency to break the silence and say hello.  Starla smiled and rested her lips against his forehead before kissing down the side of his face, from the arch of his eyebrow to the curve of his cheek and across to his lips before she replied, “Hi.”

****

Josh’s eyes were shut while he enjoyed the feeling of finally having her in his arms.  This wasn’t a dream of his anymore.  It was an actual reality.  He breathed out her name and then confessed, “I want to feel you under me but I’m afraid if I move you’re going to disappear.”

****

Starla kissed him quickly and then with a fist wrapped up tight in the material of his shirt she leaned her weight to the side, pulling him down on top of her.  “Like this?”

****

Josh leaned on his elbows and enjoyed the playful way she moved around beneath him.  “Exactly like this.”

****

He kissed her, sweetly at first, but the more restless she became the rougher he got until he was sure he was going to hurt her.  Starla’s voice broke through his reserves when she whispered into his ear, “I’m not going to break, Josh.  First time fast and hard.  We can do slow later.”  Her hips rose up to meet him and she grinded against him with such urgency that he couldn’t resist.  He pinned her hips to the couch with his hands and thrust against her over and over until she was so close he could feel her heat through both of their jeans.  She stopped him by pushing at his chest until he sat back, breathing hard and trying to gather some semblance of control.

****

“I want you inside me when I come.”  Josh stared down at her, letting her words flow through his sex fogged brain.  When her hands moved to the studded belt around her waist and she started pushing her jeans off her hips he got the hint and helped her, unzipping her and pulling at the denim while she shoved.  He leaned back far enough to let get her legs free of the binding material and then her hands tackled his jeans and he let her nimble fingers wrestle him free.

****

It didn’t take much maneuvering to get him free and with a hand wrapped around his thick shaft, Starla led him back to her.  He enjoyed the way she took charge, there was no playing, just as she had warned.  As soon as the head of his dick nudged against her wet slit she released her fist and with her heels against his ass, pulled him forward until he was all the way inside.

****

Josh leaned his head down to rest against hers, her creamy wetness sucking at him as she lifted her hips to his and then backed down, over and over, riding him and taking control.  He wanted to take it slow but her breathy little moans reiterated what she had said earlier, hard and fast the first time.  So he pulled out and then plunged forward, driving her ass into the cushion of the couch.  She whimpered and hiked her legs up further, tucking her knees into his armpits as she urged him on, “Harder. Harder. Fuck. Josh, I’m so close.”

****

He pistoned his hips, ramming himself into her over and over until she threw her head back and the long column of her neck beckoned him forward.  He fell on top of her, tired and jetlagged but full of energy because it was her, and his lips attached to the side of her neck and he sucked hard.  

****

She groaned his name as she spasmed around him, walls clenching him tight and sucking him into her depths as he felt his release coil at the base of his spine.

****

With a couple bucks of her hips he felt himself let go and he closed his eyes as the wave swept him along.  He buried his face in the cushion beside her ear, whispering her name over and over as he came down from his high.  He thought he might have voiced his question out loud but he wasn’t sure.

****

Starla’s hands soothed as they rubbed along his back, up and over the muscles that strained against his t shirt.  When he could think straight again he turned his face towards her and grinned.  She was already smiling, studying every feature of his face.  Before he could speak she said, “My favorite color is purple.”

****

Josh closed his eyes and pressed his mouth to her shoulder, a chuckle escaping his parted lips.  They had a lot to learn about each other but he didn’t question whether they could make it work.  He knew they could.  He was pretty sure it could be love.

 ****  
  
  
-End-  



	2. The Lost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fic: The Lost - Josh and unnamed o.c. A peek into what happens when you fuck up a relationship.

Her hand lands in the middle of his chest with a solid thump.  She holds him at bay as his lips descend to hers.  “Josh, stop.”

****

He pulls back, his bleary eyes and whiskey breath a sure sign of his inebriated state.  He stares down at her for a long pause before his lips soften into a smile and he fumbles with his hand to stroke her hair out of her face.  “Why should I stop, babe?  We both know you want it.”

****

Her eyes roll as she keeps her palm pressed between his pecs.  “I wanted it years ago, babe.”  She puts a snarky emphasis on the tacky endearment.  “At this point I’ve had it…twice, I believe.  And neither time makes me think you’re worth a third trip.”

****

His brows snap together as his smirk turns into a pout, his bottom lip full and slick as he shifts his weight away from her.  “Twice?”

****

Her laugh is part disbelief, part disgust as she drops her hand back to her side.  “Well, I suppose the second time hardly counts since you came in your boxers and fell asleep with your fingers inside me.”

****

His frown is more pronounced as he searches her eyes, trying to recall those events.  “Was I drunk?”

****

She shoots him a look loaded with duh and waves to him, “About right on par with how you are now.”

****

He glances down, taking in his dark wash jeans, black tee and plaid flannel.  His feet are bare and he doesn’t remember what happened to his shoes but he’s sure since he’s in his own house they’re around somewhere.  He sobers enough by the look in her eyes that he is slightly disgusted with himself but the liquor swimming through his limbs makes them heavier than they are and his bedroom door is just a few feet away.  “Fine.  If you don’t want me I’ll just find someone who does.”  His words are slurred in indignation and his shoulder caresses hers as he stumbles to the end of the hall and falls through the doorway, taking two huge steps before hitting the edge of the bed and landing on his face diagonally across the down comforter.

****

She crosses her arms protectively in front of her and pads silent and barefoot to his old room.  She stares into the master with the freshly painted charcoal walls and leans into the jamb with the shoulder he unconsciously grazed with his own.

****

She recalls that last sentence aimed at her, verbal daggers only he knows how to stick her with.  Her voice is small as she rubs her arms and says, “It’s not that I don’t want you, Josh.  It’s you who didn’t want me.”  There are tears in her eyes as she turns, pulling the door shut behind her, and walks down the hall to the spare room.

****

When he wakes up in the morning he’ll wonder where he is for a startling moment.  He’ll remember the last time he was in that bed, when the house and everything in it belonged to him.  He’ll wonder why he always comes back here, back to her.  He won’t search the rooms to find her or take the time to say goodbye before he leaves.  

****

As he sits on the curb in front of his old tree house in the Hollywood Hills area, he’ll pull out his phone to call Andre or Avan or even a taxi to take him home.  

****

While he waits with his eyes squeezed shut to block out the sun he’ll rub his left thumb against the side of his left ring finger where the token of their love and vows once graced his finger for a whole weekend.  72 hours.

****

The tan line isn’t there anymore.  It’s been over a year since he removed it.

****

His throat will swell with emotion as he thinks of what sits behind him in the house he gave her as a parting gift when he fucked everything up.

****

Andre won’t ask where his shoes are when he pulls up to collect his best friend.  He doesn’t ask how she’s doing or why he’s here or what the hell is wrong with him.  He stays quiet and doesn’t say anything more than the fact that he looks like hell.

****

In a few days he’ll get a package delivered to his front door and open it to find a pair of Nike running shoes nestled in tissue paper.

****

No return address.

****

But he knows.  And he’ll wonder why she even bothered.  Without really caring why she did.

 

-End-


End file.
